Zhiting Deng

Paclitaxel-liposome–microbubble complexes as ultrasound-triggered therapeutic drug delivery carriers

Liposome-microbubble complexes (LMC) have become a promising therapeutic carrier for ultrasound-triggered drug delivery to treat malignant tumors. However, the efficacy for ultrasound-assisted chemotherapy in vivo and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the feasibility of using paclitaxel-liposome-microbubble complexes (PLMC) as possible ultrasound (US)-triggered targeted chemotherapy against breast cancer. PTX-liposomes (PL) were conjugated to the microbubble (MB) surface through biotin-avidin linkage, increasing the drug-loading efficiency of MBs. The significant increased release of payloads from liposome-microbubble complexes was achieved upon US exposure. We used fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) as a model drug to show that released QDs were taken up by 4T1 breast cancer cells treated with QD-liposome-microbubble complexes (QLMC) and US, and uptake depended on the exposure time and intensity of insonication. We found that PLMC plus US inhibited tumor growth more effectively than PL plus US or PLMC without US, not only in vitro, but also in vivo. Histologically, the inhibition of tumor growth appeared to result from increased apoptosis and reduced angiogenesis in tumor xenografts. In addition, a significant increase of drug concentration in tumors was observed in comparison to treatment with non-conjugated PL or PLMC without US. The significant increase in an antitumor efficacy of PLMC plus US suggests their potential use as a new targeted US chemotherapeutic approach to inhibit breast cancer growth.

Molecular imaging-guided photothermal/photodynamic therapy against tumor by iRGD-modified indocyanine green nanoparticles

Multifunctional near-infrared (NIR) nanoparticles demonstrate great potential in tumor theranostic applications. To achieve the sensitive detection and effective phototherapy in the early stage of tumor genesis, it is highly desirable to improve the targeting of NIR theranostic agents to biomarkers and to enhance their accumulation in tumor. Here we report a novel targeted multifunctional theranostic nanoparticle, internalized RGD (iRGD)-modified indocyanine green (ICG) liposomes (iRGD-ICG-LPs), for molecular imaging-guided photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) therapy against breast tumor. The iRGD peptides with high affinity to αvβ3 integrin and effective tumor-internalized property were firstly used to synthesize iRGD-PEG2000-DSPE lipopeptides, which were further utilized to fabricate the targeted ICG liposomes. The results indicated that iRGD-ICG-LPs exhibited excellent stability and could provide an accurate and sensitive detection of breast tumor through NIR fluorescence molecular imaging. We further employed this nanoparticle for tumor theranostic application, demonstrating significantly higher tumor accumulation and tumor inhibition efficacy through PTT/PDT effects. Histological analysis further revealed much more apoptotic cells, confirming the advantageous anti-tumor effect of iRGD-ICG-LPs over non-targeted ICG-LPs. Notably, the targeting therapy mediated by iRGD provides almost equivalent anti-tumor efficacy at a 12.5-fold lower drug dose than that by monoclonal antibody, and no tumor recurrence and obvious treatment-induced toxicity were observed in our study. Our study provides a promising strategy to realize the sensitive detection and effective treatment of tumors by integrating molecular imaging into PTT/PDT therapy.

Reversal of multidrug resistance phenotype in human breast cancer cells using doxorubicin-liposome-microbubble complexes assisted by ultrasound

The circumvention of multidrug resistance (MDR) plays a critically important role in the success of chemotherapy. The aim of this work is to investigate the effectiveness and possible mechanisms of the reversal of MDR phenotype in human breast cancer cells by using doxorubicin-liposome-microbubble complexes (DLMC) assisted by ultrasound (US). DLMC is fabricated through conjugating doxorubicin (DOX)-liposome (DL) to the surface of microbubbles (MBs) via the biotin-avidin linkage. The resulting drug-loaded complexes are then characterized and incubated with MCF-7/ADR human breast cancer cells and followed by US exposure. Our results show the more rapid cellular uptake, evident enhancement of nuclear accumulation and less drug efflux in the resistant cells treated by DLMC+US than those treated by DL, DL+verapamil under the same US treatment or DLMC without US. The enhanced drug delivery and cellular uptake also associated with the increase of cytotoxicity against MCF-7/ADR cells, lower MCF-7/ADR cell viability and higher apoptotic cells. Mechanism investigations further disclose a significant increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, enhanced DNA damage and obvious reduction of P-glycoprotein expression in the resistant cells treated with DLMC+US compared with the control cases of cells treated by DLMC, DL+US or DL+verapamil+US. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that DLMC in combination with US may provide an effective delivery of drug to sensitize cells to circumvent MDR and to enhance the therapeutic index of the chemotherapy.

IR-780 Dye as a Sonosensitizer for Sonodynamic Therapy of Breast Tumor

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has become a new modality for cancer therapy through activating certain chemical sensitizers by ultrasound (US). Discovery and development of novel sonosensitizers are attracting extensive attentions. Here, we introduce IR-780 iodide, a lipophilic heptamethine dye with a peak optical absorption of 780 nm wavelength, which can function as SDT agents for breast cancer treatment. The in vitro cellular uptake, cell viability, and the generation levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were examined by using 4T1 breast cancer cells incubated with various concentrations of IR-780 followed by US irradiation. Our results showed a dose- and time-dependent cellular uptake of IR-780 iodide in 4T1 cancer cells. Significant lower viabilities and more necrotic/apoptotic cells were found when these cancer cells were treated with IR-780 iodide with US irradiation. Further analyzing the generation of ROS demonstrated significant increase of 1O2 level and H2O2, but not ⋅OH in the SDT-treated cells. The in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of SDT with IR-780 revealed significant tumor growth inhibition of xenografts of 4T1 cancer cells; it was further confirmed by histological analysis and TUNEL staining. Our results strongly suggest that SDT combined with IR-780 may provide a promising strategy for tumor treatment with minimal side effects.

Hyperthermia-triggered drug delivery from iRGD-modified temperature-sensitive liposomes enhances the anti-tumor efficacy using high intensity focused ultrasound

An important limitation to successful cancer treatment with chemotherapeutics is the inability to achieve therapeutically effective drug concentrations while avoiding healthy tissue damage. In this work, a new tumor-targeting peptide iRGD (CCRGDKGPDC) was used to modify drug-loaded low temperature-sensitive liposomes (iRGD-LTSL-DOX) to explore the anti-tumor effects in combination with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in vitro and in vivo. iRGD-LTSL-DOX can specifically target to ανβ3-positive cells and locally release the encapsulated doxorubicin (DOX) in a hyperthermia-triggered manner. In vivo results showed that DOX from iRGD-LTSL-DOX was intravascularly released and rapidly penetrated into tumor interstitial space after HIFU-triggered heat treatment, thereby overcoming the limited tumor penetration of anticancer drugs. Significantly stronger anti-tumor efficacy further supported the effective combination of iRGD-LTSL-DOX with HIFU-induced hyperthermia. Our study provided a novel tumor-targeting LTSL-DOX and demonstrated its usefulness in HIFU-induced hyperthermia-triggered drug delivery.

A Disposable Microfluidic Device for Controlled Drug Release from Thermal-Sensitive Liposomes by High Intensity Focused Ultrasound.

The drug release triggered thermally by high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been considered a promising drug delivery strategy due to its localized energy and non-invasive characters. However, the mechanism underlying the HIFU-mediated drug delivery remains unclear due to its complexity at the cellular level. In this paper, micro-HIFU (MHIFU) generated by a microfluidic device is introduced which is able to control the drug release from temperature-sensitive liposomes (TSL) and evaluate the thermal and mechanical effects of ultrasound on the cellular drug uptake and apoptosis. By simply adjusting the input electrical signal to the device, the temperature of sample can be maintained at 37 °C, 42 °C and 50 °C with the deviation of ± 0.3 °C as desired. The flow cytometry results show that the drug delivery under MHIFU sonication leads to a significant increase in apoptosis compared to the drug release by incubation alone at elevated temperature of 42 °C. Furthermore, increased squamous and protruding structures on the surface membrane of cells were detected by atomic force microscopy (AFM) after MHIFU irradiation of TSL. We demonstrate that compared to the routine HIFU treatment, MHIFU enables monitoring of in situ interactions between the ultrasound and cell in real time. Furthermore, it can quantitatively analyze and characterize the alterations of the cell membrane as a function of the treatment time.

A Lipopeptide-Based αvβ3 Integrin-Targeted Ultrasound Contrast Agent for Molecular Imaging of Tumor Angiogenesis

The design and fabrication of targeted ultrasound contrast agents are key factors in the success of ultrasound molecular imaging applications. Here, we introduce a transformable αvβ3 integrin-targeted microbubble (MB) by incorporation of iRGD-lipopeptides into the MB membrane for non-invasive ultrasound imaging of tumor angiogenesis. First, the iRGD-lipopeptides were synthesized by conjugating iRGD peptides to distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine-polyethylene glycol 2000-maleimide. The resulting iRGD-lipopeptides were used for fabrication of the iRGD-carrying αvβ3 integrin-targeted MBs (iRGD-MBs). The binding specificity of iRGD-MBs for endothelial cells was found to be significantly stronger than that of control MBs (p < 0.01) under in vitro static and dynamic conditions. The binding of iRGD-MBs on the endothelial cells was competed off by pre-incubation with the anti-αv or anti-β3 antibody (p < 0.01). Ultrasound images taken of mice bearing 4T1 breast tumors after intravenous injections of iRGD-MBs or control MBs revealed strong contrast enhancement within the tumors from iRGD-MBs but not from the control MBs; the mean acoustic signal intensity was 10.71 ± 2.75 intensity units for iRGD-MBs versus 1.13 ± 0.18 intensity units for the control MBs (p < 0.01). The presence of αvβ3 integrin was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. These data indicate that iRGD-MBs can be used as an ultrasound imaging probe for the non-invasive molecular imaging of tumor angiogenesis, and may have further implications for ultrasound image-guided tumor targeting drug delivery.

On-chip targeted single cell sonoporation with microbubble destruction excited by surface acoustic waves

We demonstrate that a surface acoustic wave at tens of megahertz frequency is capable of inducing microbubble cluster destruction at a desired location to achieve a single cells reparable sonoporation. By controlling the position of the microbubble cluster relative to the targeted cell precisely, the effective size of the collapsing microbubbles is measured to be less than 0.68 times the diameter of microbubble cluster. Furthermore, the sonoporation efficiency and the cell viability are 82.4% ± 6.5% and 90% ± 8.7%, respectively, when the targeted cell is within the effective microbubble destruction region.

Tumor-penetrating Peptide-integrated Thermally Sensitive Liposomal Doxorubicin Enhances Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation in Liver Tumors

Purpose To investigate the role of a tumor-penetrating peptide (internalizing CRGDRGPDC [iRGD])-integrated thermally sensitive liposomal (TSL) doxorubicin (DOX) in combination with radiofrequency (RF) ablation of liver tumors in an animal model. Materials and Methods Approval from the institutional animal care and use committee was obtained. Characterization of iRGD-TSL-DOX was performed in vitro. Next, H22 liver adenocarcinomas were implanted in 138 mice in vivo. The DOX accumulation and cell apoptosis of iRGD-TSL-DOX and TSL-DOX with or without RF were evaluated (n = 5) at different time points after treatment with quantitative analysis or pathologic staining. Mice bearing tumors were randomized into the following six groups (each group, eight mice): no treatment, iRGD-TSL-DOX, TSL-DOX, RF alone, RF ablation followed by TSL-DOX at 30 minutes (TSL-DOX combined with RF), and RF ablation followed by iRGD-TSL-DOX (iRGD-TSL-DOX combined with RF). Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the survival curves and log-rank test was used for comparison with statistical software. Results DOX encapsulation efficiency in iRGD-TSL-DOX was 97.5% ± 1.3 (standard deviation) with temperature-dependent drug release capability confirmed in vitro. In vivo, the iRGD-TSL-DOX group had overall higher DOX concentration in the tumor and had maximal difference at 24 hours compared with TSL-DOX group (2.7-fold). RF caused more intense cell apoptosis at 24 hours (median, 65% vs 21%, respectively; P < .001). For end-point survival, the iRGD-TSL-DOX combined with RF group had better survival (median, 32 days) than TSL-DOX combined with RF (median, 27 days; P = .035) or RF alone (median, 21 days; P < .001). Conclusion Conjugation to iRGD helped to improve intratumoral DOX accumulation and further enhanced the activity of TSL-DOX in RF ablation of liver tumors.

Paclitaxel-liposome loaded microbubbles for ultrasound-triggered drug delivery in vitro and in vivo

The aim of this work was to develop paclitaxel-liposome loaded microbubbles (PTX-loaded MBs) and to investigate the efficacy of chemotherapy through ultrasound-triggered drug delivery in vitro and in vivo. PTX-loaded liposomes were prepared by a minor modification of thin film hydration method and further conjugated to the surface of microbubbles through biotin-avidin linkage. The resulting payload-loaded MBs were characterized and applied to ultrasound assisted chemotherapy in breast cancer. Our results showed the MBs were able to achieve satisfactory drug encapsulation efficiency. Under ultrasound exposure, about 9.54-fold higher drug release and a significant improvement of cell uptake than that of loaded liposomes were observed. In addition, PTX-loaded MBs showed significantly greater tumor growth inhibition both in vitro and in vivo xenograft growth of breast tumor cells, compared with PTX-loaded liposomes and unloaded MBs. Drug distributions assay in various organs (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and tumor) indicated about 3-fold higher PTX enriched in tumor. Histological examinations further demonstrated the tumor growth inhibition might contribute to increased apoptosis and reduced angiogenesis in tumor xenografts. In conclusion, the study indicated the PTX-loaded MBs significantly increased the anti-tumor efficacy and can be used as a potential chemotherapy approach for ultrasound assisted breast cancer treatment.